In Your Shadow: Clouded Destiny
by Sheila51
Summary: John and Delenn's daughter and son, their lives and acheivements. Please R
1. Prologue

In your Shadow: Clouded destiny…

* * *

A/N: I am hoping to start a new long running story. This is about the children of Delenn and John, focusing on their daughter, an original character created by me.

Disclaimer: Don't own, I'm playing in a sandbox!

* * *

Rows and flows of angel hair

And ice cream castles in the air  
And feather canyons everywhere,

I've looked at clouds that way.  
But now they only block the sun,

They rain and snow on everyone.  
So many things I would have done

But clouds got in my way.

Clouded Destiny…

Prologue

Stephen watched the doors open in front of John Sheridan's swift footsteps. The serious frown that more often seemed to be on John's face than Stephen remembered swung his head until he spotted his friend. A smile bloomed as John approached. His grin caused by the sight of the tiny bundle Stephen was cradling. Stephen raised a finger to his lips and John nodded. He pulled back the edge f the blanket and looked down at his nearly bald daughter, her still slightly soft headbone was separated from her head by a soft piece of cloth which would remain there to ensure the bone would not become attached to her head until the skin on head and her DNA had settled into a pattern.

"Ahh..." said John softly, his smile widening, one tiny fist was plunged inside her equally tiny mouth.

"She just fell asleep… Finally!" whispered Stephen as John brushed a finger across his daughter's cheek.

"She's a fighter alright." There was a mixture of pride and wry amusement in Sheridan's tone. "She keeps me and Delenn up half the night. The only way she'll go back to sleep is if I carry her around, and get this, it has to be outside." He said, his whisper slightly exasperated. "On the White star on the way here, she just wouldn't sleep!" he whispered with a grin. Stephen returned the grin as the baby's legs started kicking in her sleep. They both chuckled at the kicks; her hand was still firmly imbedded in her own mouth.

She opened her gray eyes and blinked up at her father as Stephen offered the child too him. John cradled her in his arms. Barely three months old she frowned up at her father slate colored eyes blinking sleepily.

"Hey," he said softly. The baby made one of her strange little noises. Stephen watched at the strange rapport that the two seemed to share and then looked back at the results on the screens behind him.

"So, have you and Delenn decided n the name yet?" he asked he rubbed at his sore arms, it had taken her hours too fall asleep. John turned around.

"No…" he said with another wry grin. "We just can't seem to agree on one. We both agree that she should have a Minbari name, but neither of us have found one which we both like." Stephen nodded.

"Funny, I thought that you would name her after someone. Like David." John nodded somberly.

"We've been thinking about that." He nodded thoughtfully. He looked at Stephen seriously. "Actually," he sighed. "I have to talk to you about that." Stephen raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Really?" he asked. "Now you're not gonna name her after me are you?" he asked, slightly alarmed by the idea, yet still joking. Sheridan grinned.

"No of course not." He laughed.

"Well good." Said Stephen, pretending to be very relieved.

"But naming her after Marcus and... And Anna..." Stephen felt a pang of something. He felt a fist clench around his throat at the mention of Marcus. He nodded slightly.

"That… That sounds like an impressive name for such a tiny child." Said Stephen. He turned and looked down at the tests he had run on her earlier. To distract himself from them and memories of Marcus he asked. "Have you talked to Susan?" there was short pause.

"She suggested it." Stephen turned. John continued in a strange tone. "She called me and well..." John sighed. "She asked whether Delenn and I would consider naming the bub after Marcus, she said she wasn't likely to have a child and she wanted him remembered." Sheridan shook his head, as melancholy memories descended on the room.

"And Anna?" asked Stephen, sensing this was not Susan's idea.

"Delenn." Said Sheridan shortly. Stephen nodded.

"And your thoughts on that?" he asked. John shrugged uncomfortably.

"I don't think I want to name her after Anna." He said after a moment. Stephen watched as John stroked his daughter's small hand absently.

"Anyway, how is my angel-without-a-name?" asked John, abruptly changing the course of the conversation. Stephen sighed, this was the part he was dreading.

"Well in the main she's in perfect health." He said. "She seems fine, though there are a few things I need to show you." Stephen delved into his pocket and produced a small metal device. He pressed a small button and series of lights started blinking rapidly.

"So we won't be overheard." John raised an eyebrow. He moved closer.

"You'll recall that there are some abnormalities in your DNA. Things I can only attribute to two things. You're extended exposure to Kosh, and Lorien's healing of you." Stephen paused as John nodded. "Now when David was born there were only slight traces of this foreign DNA, this time however it's different." He typed in the keys to bring up the scans he had taken. "These parts in gray-" he indicated a third of the baby's DNA, "-are the parts that I have identified as belonging to the Human or Minbari traits in her." He glanced up at John who was frowning at the image.

"And the red and blue parts?" he asked softly.

"Their the alien DNA, the blue seems more entrenched and I believe that it is the Vorlon DNA that Kosh somehow imparted to you, the red… I've discovered cells belonging to that alien DNA repairing damage in other parts of your body." John nodded.

"And in bub they are present?" Stephen looked up.

"They're not only present, they're there in greater quantities then they are present in your DNA." Sheridan's eyebrows went up, he looked down at his tiny baby. "And there's something else," Sheridan looked up, his face muscles taut with tension. "When I ran my scans I decided to investigate the possibility that the Vorlon DNA might have had other side effects." He brought up another screen.

"This screen shows that the gene that controls telepathic abilities… and," He brought up another image to correspond with it. "It's active and about two times the size of the normal human's." John leant forwards, his face draining of all colour as he listened to his friends words.

* * *

Please leave me a review! 


	2. Chapter 1

In Your Shadow:

Clouded Destiny

* * *

A/N: So sorry guys, both for the lack of an update, and for the shortness of this chapter. But I've been swamped by schoolwork and evil plot bunnies! GRR! Please make them go away...

* * *

Chapter One:

The copper red hair flashed in the sunlight as Delenn and her daughter walked along the beach on earth. Nearby Rangers walked softly, their presence barely felt, but it was felt. As always an ISN reporter trailed after mother and daughter, though more interested in Sheridan's young daughter than the woman who smiled as she was presented with a shell, before the girl was off again, her laughter bright as sunshine on the air. One of the rangers leaned down and then lifted her high onto his shoulders.

Delighted squeals erupted from the nine-year-old. As the ranger sauntered across the sand, she called for her mother to watch her. Delenn smiled indulgently at the pair, the young ranger reminded her of her daughters namesake in many ways.

"Marciann, do not tire poor Matthew out." She called. She was responded to with waves from both of them and then the little girl was down again and running to play in the edge of the surf, letting squeals out as she played some kind of game with the surf.

Delenn walked calmly along the beach, her bare feet feeling the soft warmth of the sand. This beach was miles from the nearest cities and was in fact so remote that it had taken more than a day for the ISN crews to find them. She sighed, but find them the reporters had.

She frowned at something ahead; Marciann had gone stock still, head held at an angle, staring behind her mother, her expressive eyes wide. Delenn frowned, as she was about to turn she felt a scream. _'Get Down!'_ She responded instantly.

As she dived she felt fire along her side. Another scream sounded from the child in the surf.

"Miana!" the child was crying for her, Marciann was crying for her, yet Delenn could not find the strength to move. She heard cries of pain as the black clad figure she saw hazily ran amongst the Rangers. Darkness edged her vision… As though from a distant place words in Minbari came to her ears. "No! Don't!" and then, "Valen."

--

Marciann giggled and laughed as she danced in the waves, trying to hop over all the new waves as they came in. She had been feeling a strange thing for a while now. A sort of vague sense of unease. Maybe she was getting sick, she hoped not though as Papa was always so worried when she got sick.

She frowned, she stopped playing, the waves lapping at her feet forgotten, an image flashed through her mind. A knife… A gun, Miana, a knife, Miana, a gun, Miana… Slowly she turned, ill to her stomach. She just stared as the figures burst from their concealment, guns were tracking towards her mother, her reaction was instant, screaming a warning. She screamed again as she ran as fast as her short legs wuls carry her. Miana was diving in a graceful arc as she turned towards the attackers, Then one of the fiery bolts hit her side. Marciann's steps came to a halt. She screamed again and again, rooted to the spot. It was then she realised Matthew had fallen to the sand barely a meter away.

Bright blue eyes stared up at the sky. Her screams silenced, a cold dead certainty rushing over her as blood pounded in her ears. He was dead. She turned her head. One of the assailants was starting towards her mother's body.

"NO!" the words were out, strangely she found her self running. She launched her self at the assassin who had paused. She reached up and cannoned a small fist into his face.

"Don't!" she cried. She gripped the blade at his belt just as he swung an arm, she pushed to the ground. She shook her head, a ringing had started somewhere in her head, blinking away stars she launched herself upwards. She felt the knife meet resistance as it slid into the man's side. Suddenly the blade was jerking, warm sticky fluid flushed onto her hands, splashed her face. She watched as the man fell away. She grabbed the knife he held. Calmly, as though it was not her, she watched as the small red hands lifted the second blade. It plunged into the neck just as his hod fell back.

"Valen." She whispered as reality came crushing down around her. She just stared as his eyes lost all light. And then he was gone. And her hands were warm and wet… The earth seemed to spin around her as though the earth no longer was still beneath her feet.

TBC...

Comments:

Polaris: No need to wonder cause here it is!

thecomputerom: Right. Three reviews... AWSOME! Hope you like.

FlarnChef: Cool name! Thanks and here some more. 'Would you like Flarn with that order?'


End file.
